Abstract/Aim
The increase in life expectancy has led to an increase in the elderly population, leading to the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). Currently, available drugs alleviate the symptoms of PD, but do not treat or block the progression of the disease, and there is no effective treatment, making it urgent to find new solutions. In recent decades, the marine environment has proven to be a source of unique chemical structures and the chemical synthesis of new drugs with greater efficacy and specificity in the treatment of various pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases. In this sense, the scientific work carried out by the MARE-Politécnico de Leiria team led to the creation of a biobank consisting of 27 compounds of marine origin. Among these, 4 have already demonstrated a neuroprotective effect. The NEURONS4 project thus arises, with the main objective of evaluating the neuroprotective potential of these marine natural products in co-culture neuronal models and in vivo models, contributing to the increase of scientific knowledge about MNP as potential neuroprotective therapeutic agents, responding to the urgent need to find new solutions that can be effective in the treatment of PD.
Keywords
Parkinson’s; Marine Natural Products; Seaweeds
Partners
FARM-ID-Associação da Faculdade de Farmácia para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento; Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago of Compostela; Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen
Coordinator
MARE-Polytechnic of Leiria: Joana Silva – joana.m.silva@ipleiria.pt
Funding
229.220,17 € (MARE-Polytechnic of Leiria) | FCT // Duration 2023 – 2026